MANILA, Philippines - In a decision expected by all parties involved, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) finally resolved Thursday to unseat Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio and proclaim rival Lilia Pineda as the winner in the 2007 election.

The poll body's second division granted the petition filed by Pineda, an administration ally, to remove Panlilio from his position. Pineda accused Panlilio of massive cheating in the 2007 election, where she lost by 1,147 votes.

But after the recount of the contested 4,683 ballots, the poll body determined that Pineda won against Panlilio by 2,011 votes. In the 11-page resolution, the division stated that it has counted 190,729 votes for Pineda, and 188,718 for Panlilio.

George Erwin Garcia, counsel for Pineda, said that the poll body considered votes for "Nanay" and "Nanay Baby" in the contested ballots in favor of his client. During the canvassing of votes in 2007, it was reported that the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) credited to Pineda only the "Baby" votes.

Panlilio, who attended the promulgation, told reporters that although the commissioners sided with Pineda, there is no truth to her claim that he cheated in the elections. "Ang isang kandidato na walang partido nung 2007, na walang makinarya, ay walang kakayahang mandaya at magbili (sic) ng boto," he said.

In an earlier interview, commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer already clarified that his division determined no instance of cheating. "It was just a matter of appreciation of votes," he said.

The decision did not come as a surprise to Panlilio, who had said in an earlier interview that he felt uncomfortable with the poll body's handling of the case. Panlilio accused the commissioners of the second division of showing “extreme bias” in handling the vote recount in Pampanga. His counsel even said that Panlilio "believes that the proceeding is aimed at unseating him."

"The pattern [of the proceedings] lead us to think that we'll not get a fair treatment on this case," said Panlilio, who earlier asked the commissioners of the second division to inhibit themselves from the case.

Panlilio also noted the length of time it took the commissioners to decide the petition, which was filed by Pineda as early as May 25, 2007.

Panlilio's camp said that they will look into the vote recount to check its validity. (Newsbreak)